He then desired Doña Marina to call the caziques and papas around him where he sat on horseback, all of us being close at his side. Three of the principal caziques and two papas immediately appeared in Cortes' presence, and addressed him thus: "Malinche, you must not harbour any suspicion against us for not having come to Tlascalla to pay our respects to you there, and because we did not send you any provisions. We were not wanting in good wishes towards you, but Maxixcatzin, Xicotencatl, and the whole of Tlascalla are at enmity with us. They have too grossly slandered us and our great monarch, and now they no longer abide by words, but have the audacity to be upon the point of entering, all armed, into our city, under your protection. We earnestly beg you will tell them to return to their own country, or at least command them to remain outside in the fields, and not to march into our city in such a manner. The rest of you are at liberty to enter at any time, and are perfectly welcome."
As soon as our captain was informed of this their reasonable request he sent for Alvarado and Oli, and commissioned them to beg of the Tlascallans to erect themselves huts and barracks outside the town, and not to follow us there except those of them who transported our heavy guns, and our friends of Sempoalla. These officers were, at the same time, to inform them what had occasioned these orders, and the great fear in which all the caziques and papas stood of them; that they should be duly informed of the day when we commenced our march through Cholulla to Mexico; lastly, they were desired not to grieve on account of this change.
When the inhabitants of Cholulla perceived the arrangements which Cortes had made respecting the Tlascallans, they appeared more easy; upon which Cortes acquainted them that our sovereign and master, whose subjects we were, was a powerful monarch, who had under his command many great kings and caziques. We were sent by him into this country to acquaint them, in his name, that, in future, they were no longer to worship idols, make human sacrifices, eat human flesh, and were to abstain from committing unnatural crimes, and all other abominations. We had come to their town because the road to Mexico lay through it, whither we were going to hold a conference with the great Motecusuma; and we were also desirous of considering them as brothers. Cortes further said that other great caziques had already sworn obedience and submission to our sovereign, and he hoped they would follow their example.
In answer to this, they said that we really demanded too much; we had scarcely seen them before we required of them to abolish their teules, which they could not think of complying with; but as regarded doing homage to our sovereign, in so far they would yield to our wishes. They accordingly made a verbal promise of allegiance, but not with the usual formalities, in presence of a royal notary; upon this we made our entry into the city of Cholulla. The tops of the houses and streets were everywhere crowded with people to gaze upon us. And who can wonder? They had never before seen men like ourselves, nor any horses! Through this mass of people we were conducted to our quarters, consisting of several large apartments, in which all of us, with our friends of Sempoalla and the Tlascallans who transported our baggage, found plenty of room, and we were immediately supplied with abundance of good victuals.
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
How the inhabitants of Cholulla concerted a plan, at the instigation of Motecusuma, to murder us all, and what further happened.
The splendid reception we met with at Cholulla was certainly well meant and honest on the part of the inhabitants, yet a most rapid change took place. Motecusuma, namely, through his ambassadors, had concocted a plan with the inhabitants to murder us all. The latter were ordered to arm themselves in all secrecy, and act in concert with 20,000 of his troops, who were already on their road, and would enter Cholulla by stealth, when they were to fall upon us unawares in a body, harass us day and night, take as many of us prisoners as they could, and send us bound to Mexico. These orders were accompanied with great promises and presents of jewels, and other precious things,—among them a golden drum. The papas also received instructions to sacrifice twenty of us to their idols.
All this was nicely planned, and ready to burst forth. Motecusuma's troops lay for a part hid among the woods, about two miles from Cholulla; another portion had been secretly admitted into the dwellings of the Cholullans. All were well armed, and the balconies of the houses had been strengthened by breastworks, the streets barricaded by heaps of earth, and intersected by deep holes, so as to render our horse useless. Some houses had even been filled with neck-straps, ropes made of twisted hides, and long poles, to which we were to be bound and transported to Mexico. But the Almighty had willed this otherwise, and all their designs were frustrated, as the kind reader will shortly see.
For the present we were lodged in good quarters, and received a regular and plentiful supply of provisions during the first days; and though all seemed in profound peace, we did not relax in our excellent custom of keeping a sharp look-out: and, indeed, a visible change was taking place, for, on the third day, provisions were no longer brought us, nor did any cazique or papa make his appearance among us: if any Indian did approach our quarters from curiosity, he merely came with derisive smiles, as if to convey that something unexpected was going to befall us. Cortes, perceiving this, desired the ambassadors of Motecusuma, who still remained with us, to order the caziques to send us provisions as usual. Some wood and water was now indeed brought us, but the old man who came with it assured us that there was no more maise left in Cholulla. That very day even other ambassadors had arrived from Motecusuma, who joined those staying with us, and delivered their monarch's message to Cortes without any show of courtesy, and in an impudent tone of voice, saying that their monarch desired we should not come to his city, as he could not provide for our sustenance there. To this they required an immediate answer, they being in a hurry to return with our reply to Mexico. As soon as Cortes saw what a sad turn affairs had taken, he spoke with much reserve, and answered the ambassadors in the most courteous manner possible, telling them how greatly he was astonished that so powerful a monarch as Motecusuma should so often change his mind: in the meantime he begged of them to postpone their return until the following day, when he would be able to say in how far we could comply with their monarch's wishes.